Summary On 08 October 2000 during daylight hours, while retrieving gill nets during increasing wind and wave conditions, the open boat CFV127606, with the operator and his crew member on board, capsized close to shore near SleepyCove, NorthTwillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador. One fisher was secured to the overturned boat but did not survive and the other was lost and presumed drowned. Neither of the two men on board was wearing a lifejacket or personal flotation device. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information Particulars of the Vessel Photo1. The CFV 127606 after recovery (oars in stowed position) The Canadian Fishing Vessel (CFV)127606 is a small open fibreglass fishing boat built from the same mould as many others that operate in the inshore fishery around the coast of Newfoundland. The internal hull is subdivided by transverse thwarts that provide hull strength and form compartments that serve to contain fish, nets and gear. A motor well is provided at the stern. Built-in buoyancy ensures that the boat remains afloat when swamped or capsized. The outboard motor is mounted in way of a cut-out at the centre of the stern transom. The lower edge of the cut-out is below the projected line of the gunwale rail and, being the lowest point of freeboard, is an area of the hull most prone to shipping water during fishing operations. A net/line hauler is housed in a weathertight enclosure located at the port side of the compartment just forward of the operator well (seeAppendixA,Photo2). History of the Voyage Figure1. Approximate position of occurrence On Sunday 08 October 2000, at approximately 1045,2 the operator and his crew member in the open boat CFV127606 left their Twillingate wharf heading for the fishing grounds off the northwest coast of North Twillingate Island. The decision to go out had been made quite suddenly. Both fishers were licenced to fish cod using six gill nets. Their combined total of 12nets had been used when fishing earlier in the week. Seven of these nets had been taken in on the previous Friday. It was intended to have the remaining five removed the next day to comply with a condition of the licence that required that all gill nets be removed from the water between 6PMSaturday and 6AMMonday. However, the weather on Saturday was bad and no local fishing boats ventured out. That same evening, the operator gave no indication to his family or crew member that he intended to take in the nets the following day, as it was his usual practice not to fish on Sundays. Four of the nets were located about one-half mile out from the shoreline between SleepyCove and LongPoint. The other string was said to have been set a little farther out, in deeper water, in a trial attempt to improve upon recent small catches. Under normal circumstances, retrieval of all five nets would have taken about two hours. When bringing in their gill nets, it was usual to start retrieval from the deeper water placements and work towards the shore. Upon gathering a net marker with the anchoring weight, the net was hauled over a guide placed at the bow. Each section of net brought on board was systematically cleared of seaweed, other bottom debris, and usable fish, and the emptied gear was then conveniently stowed. Winds intensified throughout the morning with waves reaching one to two metres in height, making retrieval of the gill nets more difficult. At 1449, the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) in St.John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, was alerted by a local member of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA) that an overturned boat had been sighted at approximately1430 near Long Point at SleepyCove Gull Island. Several CCGA vessels (local fishing boats) ventured out in response to the rescue call. The CCGSCapeRoger and a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter were tasked but their arrival on the scene was estimated to take two to three hours. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) advised the MRSC that a small fishing boat was overdue and that the two persons on board had been identified. The fishers had no means of telecommunication to call for assistance and no other boats had been out fishing in the area that morning. Consequently, no immediate help was at hand at the actual time of the capsizing. Between 1545 and 1600, a local rescue fishing boat came alongside the capsized vessel that was positioned at approximately 49410.23N and 54480.92 W. The body of the operator was found secured to the upturned boat and with a net line of floats around his neck. He was not wearing a lifejacket or personal flotation device. Part of a gill net was found in a bundle near the capsized boat; the other portion was still set. There was no sign of the second fisher at the scene. The CFV127606 was eventually righted and towed to CrowHead, Newfoundland and Labrador. An intensive search for the missing crew member was carried out for many days but was hampered by severe weather conditions. He was not found. Injuries to Persons An autopsy revealed that the operator accidentally died as a result of acute asphyxia due to strangulation. The crew member was later declared lost at sea and presumed drowned. Condition of the Vessel The underside of the skeg at the stern showed recent signs of abrasion and the outboard motor cover had been lost. The propeller blades had suffered severe damage and a steel guide pin, securely mounted on the transom, had been bent over by some strong external force. The oars were in the stowed position (seePhoto1). Weather The marine forecast for Newfoundland and Labrador issued by Environment Canada at2000 on Saturday 07October2000 for the northeast coast Cape St.John's and south was as follows: Gale warning continued. Winds easterly 10to 15knots backing to northeast 15to 20Sunday afternoon then increasing to northwest winds 25to gales35 Sunday evening. Occasional rain ending Sunday evening. Fog banks. Visibility fair in rain and poor in fog. Little temperature change. Outlook for Monday . . . moderate to strong westerlies diminishing to light winds. The marine forecast at 0300 on Sunday08October 2000 was the same. Seas were moderately heavy with wave heights of one to two metres increasing to two to three metres later in the day. Water and air temperatures were 10C and 8C respectively. Crew The operator was a well-regarded fisher and former president of the Canadian Sealers Association. He was also a member of the CCGA and active in local fishery affairs. He had over 20years of combined experience in sealing, offshore trawling and inshore fishing. In recent years, he had been ground-fishing in local waters using gill nets. Having poor vision, he was obliged to wear eyeglasses. He was reported to be a good swimmer. The crew member had very little experience in gill net fishing and could not swim. Vessel Certification The CFV 127606 was registered with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). With a gross tonnage of less than 15, the vessel was not subject to inspection by Transport Canada Marine Safety (TCMS). Nevertheless, it did have to comply with the provisions of the Small Fishing Vessel Inspection Regulations pertaining to life-saving and fire-extinguishing equipment. Search and Rescue Statistics A study was conducted for the Canadian Coast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR) on the issue of small fishing vessel safety. The study revealed that the annual number of SAR incidents off Newfoundland had nearly doubled since the cod moratorium was announced in1992, increasing from 193such occurrences in1993, to 382in1999, with 46deaths during that period, mostly among the crew of boats smaller than about eight metres. Cod Fishery Management General Scientists provide advice on a wide range of conservation measures, such as size limits, limits on the amount of fish, gear as well as areas and seasons for fishing. As part of the process, the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC), after consulting with the industry, makes recommendations to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on conservation measures for groundfish stocks. The DFO considers the recommendations and consults with industry, and a Conservation and Harvesting Plan (CHP) is prepared for each fleet sector prior to the finalization of the Integrated Fish Management Plan (IFMP). Licence conditions are then developed based on the CHP and the IFMP. A sketch of the Canadian200-mile fishing zone and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) fishing boundaries is shown in AppendixB. Removal of Gill Nets In mid-March of 2000, after the emergency closure of the cod fishery in Newfoundland the previous week, fisheries officers, on patrol in PlacentiaBay (Zone3Ps) on the south coast, hauled in 30nets in one day, discovering 10000kg of dead cod. Some of the gill nets seized belonged to poachers, some went missing in stormy weather and some were just abandoned. Following the discovery of the destroyed cod from Placentia Bay, the FRCC recommended that all gill nets be returned to port with every vessel on a daily basis, with the result that no gill nets be left unattended in the water. In response to these recommendations, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) and representatives of the fishery regarding vessels less that 65feet met with the DFO and expressed concerns with the recommendation to take gill nets out of the water each night. The DFO was asked to further review the FRCC recommendations when developing the CHP. One of these recommendations was that gill nets be taken out of the water from 2000 Saturday evening to 0600 Monday each week. This recommendation was included by the DFO in the CHP2000 for Zone3Ps cod in PlacentiaBay and licences were qualified accordingly. The ruling was consequently applied to the cod fishery from the southern part of the Labrador coast and the east of Newfoundland encompassing zones2J, 3Kand3L. On 19 June 2000, the DFO met with the FFAW and a representative group of fishers who expressed concern with the requirement to take gill nets ashore on the weekends. They pointed out concerns for a small vessel in taking up gill nets in periods of bad weather. The DFO advised the group that, unless they could come up with alternative measures to address the FRCC recommendation on taking gill nets ashore, the current provision requiring that gill nets be taken ashore on weekends would remain in the conditions of licence. Subsequently, the DFO announced in its management measures for the 2000northern cod fishery in zones2J, 3Kand 3Lthat the fishery will take place from late Juneto July29 and from September11 to October28,2000. The June start date to be announced when licence conditions are finalized. Conditions of the Operator's Licence The Commercial Licences/Conditions and Vessel Registration(s) issued to the operator by the DFO for the year2000 included two vessels, namely the CFV 127606 (17feetinlength) and the CFV136080 (18feetinlength). The licence covered a number of species permitted to be fished, with individual quotas specified for lobsters and all inshore species, including cod using gill net or longline within the NAFO zones2J, 3Kand3L. The licence also specified that the operator was permitted to fish cod only in zone3K within the 12-milelimit. He was permitted to use six nets of 50fathoms each to harvest 8400pounds of cod and had to remove the nets from the water between 1800Saturday and 0600Monday. Enforcement of the Conditions of Licence The northern cod fishing season commenced on 26June2000 and in lateJuly, the DFO Conservation and Protection (CP) Branch laid 14charges against local fishers for contravening the weekendrule. All the accused were convicted and each was fined $100 and forfeited one gill net. The summer fishing period ended on 29July2000. Following the opening of the fall fishing season, several local fishers, who had nets out on the day of the occurrence, considered the weather unfit to depart. After contacting a local DFO CP officer, these persons were told to leave their nets in the water and that they would not be prosecuted for doing so. There is no such qualification in the conditions of licence and no known announcement, broadcast or publication that addressed a weatherpermitting relaxation. The discretionary power of the fishery officers is derived from subsection25(3) of the FisheriesAct, which states that A fishery officer may permit fishing gear or apparatus to remain in the water, along a beach or within a fishery after the commencement of a close time for any period the fishery officer considers necessary to permit the removal of the gear or apparatus. Transport Canada In 1999, a Steering Committee on Small Fishing Vessels was set up by the Canadian Marine Advisory Council (CMAC) with the intention to look at the existing regulatory regime and to revisit the draft regulations that were developed in1993 but were not advanced at that time. Completion of the proposed regulations remains pending.